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Thursday, March 05, 2009

MY IDEA OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

I have been threatened by a leader of the Crips, who once entered my room only to throw all of my belongings and books and papers on the floor before leaving the room saying he was going to “F*** me up.”

The New Majority's Thomas Gibbon a Republican and second year member of Teach For America opines about his views on social justice and his experience working in the public educational system.

He writes: I have seen the insanity of an inner city school where kids poop and pee in the stairwells because bathroom doors are locked out of fear that fires will be set or sex rings will run rampant. I have had my laptop stolen off my desk and been told by other teachers which gang leaders to see to try and buy it back. I have been threatened by a leader of the Crips, who once entered my room only to throw all of my belongings and books and papers on the floor before leaving the room saying he was going to “F*** me up.”

But I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced anything more at odds with reality than my recruitment into the academic world, where I have been offered to pursue a Ph.D in a field and school where conservative voices don’t seem to exist.

That I have gained admission to this university and this particular department is shocking in itself. The first thing I was told by the chair of the department when I was interviewed in the fall is that “we are extremely far to the left.” I was prepared for something like this, responded neutrally, and impressed her with my stories from the inner city education system and my desire to do in depth research about how so many levels of American society fail urban children. I also demonstrated a flawless expertise at discussing my “white privilege” because I knew it would be necessary for a straight-edge white guy to gain admission to a competitive left wing Ph.D program.

During a recruiting visit last month, the other accepted candidates and I were asked to say something that others wouldn’t think to know about us. The professors led off this activity as a sort of ice breaking activity, sharing everything from their sexuality and even history as strippers at gay strip clubs. One shared the galling fact that she was once registered as a Republican. It was just assumed that these comments were normal and that those gathered around the table were radicals.